Home Assistant Dahua Integration

The Dahua Home Assistant integration allows you to integrate your Dahua cameras, doorbells, NVRs, DVRs in Home Assistant. It's also confirmed to work with some Lorex cameras and Amcrest devices.

Supports motion events, alarm events (and others), enabling/disabling motion detection, switches for infrared, illuminator (white light), security lights (red/blue flashers), sirens, doorbell button press events, and more.

Also exposes several services to enable/disable motion detection or set the text overlay on the video.

NOTE: Using the switch to turn on/off the infrared light will disable the "auto" mode. Use the service to enable auto mode again (or the camera UI).

Use Cases

Security monitoring: Get real-time motion, intrusion, and alarm events pushed to Home Assistant. Trigger automations to record video, send notifications, or turn on lights when motion is detected.
Doorbell automation: Detect doorbell presses and trigger notifications, unlock doors via VTO, or play announcements. Integrate with other smart home devices for a complete visitor management workflow.
Night vision control: Automate infrared and illuminator lights based on time of day, presence, or ambient light conditions.
PTZ preset positions: Move cameras to preset positions on a schedule or in response to events (e.g., point at the driveway when the garage opens).
Video overlay management: Dynamically update text overlays on camera feeds (e.g., show current temperature, occupancy count, or alarm status).
Multi-camera NVR setups: Monitor multiple cameras connected to a single NVR, each as a separate channel with independent events and controls.

How Data is Updated

The integration uses two methods to keep entity states current:

Polling (every 30 seconds): A DataUpdateCoordinator polls the camera's HTTP API to fetch motion detection status, lighting configuration, disarming linkage state, profile mode, PTZ position, and other settings. This ensures all entity states stay in sync even if an event is missed.
Event streaming (real-time): The integration maintains a persistent HTTP connection to the camera's event manager API (eventManager.cgi?action=attach) to receive events like motion detection, cross-line detection, and alarms as they happen. For VTO doorbells, a separate TCP connection on port 5000 streams doorbell press, door status, and call events. Events are fired on the Home Assistant event bus as dahua_event_received and immediately update binary sensor states.

Why not use the Amcrest integration already provided by Home Assistant? The Amcrest integration is missing features that this integration provides and I want an integration that is branded as Dahua. Amcrest are rebranded Dahua cams. With this integration living outside of HA, it can be developed faster and released more often. HA has release schedules and rigerous review processes which I'm not ready for while developing this integration. Once this integration is mature I'd like to move it into HA directly.

Installation

If you want live-streaming, make sure to add the following to your config.yaml:

ffmpeg:

See ffmpeg and stream.

HACS install

To install with HACS:

Click on HACS in the Home Assistant menu
Click on Integrations
Click the EXPLORE & ADD REPOSITORIES button
Search for Dahua
Click the INSTALL THIS REPOSITORY IN HACS button
Restart Home Assistant
Configure the camera by going to Configurations -> Integrations -> ADD INTERATIONS button, search for Dahua and configure the camera.

Manual install

To manually install:

# Download a copy of this repository
$ wget https://github.com/brianegge/dahua/archive/dahua-main.zip

# Unzip the archive
$ unzip dahua-main.zip

# Move the dahua directory into your custom_components directory in your Home Assistant install
$ mv dahua-main/custom_components/dahua <home-assistant-install-directory>/config/custom_components/

⚠️ After executing one of the above installation methods, restart Home Assistant. Also clear your browser cache before proceeding to the next step, as the integration may not be visible otherwise.

Setup

Now the integration is added to HACS and available in the normal HA integration installation, so...
In the HA left menu, click Configuration
Click Integrations
Click ADD INTEGRATION
Type Dahua and select it
Enter the details:
1. Username: Your camera's username
2. Password: Your camera's password
3. Address: Your camera's address, typically just the IP address
4. Port: Your camera's HTTP port. Default is 80
5. RTSP Port: Your camera's RTSP port, default is 554. Used to live stream your camera in HA
6. Channel: The camera channel index (0-based). Standalone cameras use 0. For NVRs, each camera is a separate channel. Add a separate integration entry per channel.
7. Events: The integration will keep a connection open to the camera to capture motion events, alarm events, etc. You can select which events you want to monitor and report in HA. If no events are selected then the connection will no be created. If you want a specific event that's not listed here open an issue and I'll add it.

NOTE: All streams will be added, even if not enabled in the camera. Just remove the ones you don't want.

Removal

To remove the integration:

In the HA left menu, click Settings
Click Devices & services
Find the Dahua integration and click on it
Click the three-dot menu on the device you want to remove and select Delete

If you also want to remove the integration files from HACS:

Click on HACS in the Home Assistant menu
Click on Integrations
Find Dahua, click the three-dot menu, and select Remove
Restart Home Assistant

Configuration Options

After adding the integration you can adjust which entity platforms are enabled by clicking CONFIGURE on the integration card. The following platforms can be toggled on or off:

Option	Description	Default
`binary_sensor`	Motion, alarm, and doorbell event sensors	Enabled
`camera`	Camera entities with live streaming and snapshots	Enabled
`light`	Infrared, illuminator, flood light, and security light controls	Enabled
`select`	Preset position and doorbell light mode selectors	Enabled
`switch`	Motion detection, siren, disarming, and smart motion detection toggles	Enabled

Known supported cameras

This integration should word with most Dahua cameras and doorbells. It has been tested with very old and very new Dahua cameras.

Doorbells will have a binary sensor that captures the doorbell pressed event.

Please let me know if you've tested with additional cameras

These devices are confirmed as working:

Dahua cameras

Series	2 Megapixels	4 Megapixels	5 Megapixels	8 Megapixels
Consumer Series
	A26
1-Series
	HFW1230S	HFW1435S-W
	HDBW1230E-S2	HFW1435S-W-S2
		HDBW1431EP-S-0360B
2-/3-Series
	HDW2831T-ZS-S2	HDW2431TP-AS	HDW3549HP-AS-PV	HDW3849HP-AS-PV
	HDBW2231FP-AS-0280B-S2	HFW2449S-S-IL
		HFW3441E-AS-S2
4-/5-Series
	HDW4231EM-ASE	HFW4433F-ZSA		HDW5831R-ZE
	HDBW4231F-AS	HDBW5421E-Z
	HDW4233C-A	T5442T-ZE
	HDBW4239R-ASE	T5442TM-AS
		B5442E-Z4E
		B54IR-ASE
	HDBW4239RP-ASE
6-/7-Series
	HDPW7564N-SP
Panoramic Series
			EW5531-AS

Other brand cameras

Brand	2 Megapixels	5 Megapixels	8 Megapixels
Amcrest
		Amcrest IP5M-T1179E	Amcrest IPC-Color4K-T
IMOU
	IMOU IPC-A26Z / Ranger Pro Z	IMOU DB61i
	IMOU IPC-C26E-V2 ^*
	IMOU IPC-K22A / Cube PoE-322A
Lorex
			Lorex E891AB
			Lorex LNB8005-C
			Lorex LNE8964AB

^* partial support

Doorbell cameras

Brand	2 Megapixels	4 Megapixels	5 Megapixels
Amcrest
	Amcrest AD110	Amcrest AD410
Dahua
	DHI-VTO2202F-P
	DHI-VTO2211G-P
	DHI-VTO3311Q-WP
IMOU
	IMOU C26EP-V2	IMOU IPC-K46	IMOU DB61i

Known Limitations

iMou / cloud-only devices: Devices that require the iMou cloud service (and don't expose a local HTTP API) are not supported. See issue #6 for details.
IPC-D2B20-ZS: This model doesn't work directly. It needs a wrapper — see #7, #8.
Firmware quirks: Some older firmwares use non-standard channel numbering (channel 0 instead of channel 1). The integration auto-detects this, but if entities show incorrect data, try changing the channel setting.
Auto mode vs manual control: Turning infrared or illuminator lights on/off via the switch disables the camera's "auto" mode. Use the set_infrared_mode service with mode: Auto to restore automatic control.
Siren duration: Camera sirens typically auto-disable after 10-15 seconds. The siren switch will show as "on" briefly before the camera turns it off.
Preset position select: The preset position entity is disabled by default since most cameras don't use PTZ presets. Enable it in the entity settings if needed.
Entity detection: The integration tries to detect which features your device supports, but sometimes adds entities for unsupported features. Simply disable any entities that don't work with your device.
Discovery: Dahua cameras do not advertise via standard Home Assistant discovery protocols (SSDP, Zeroconf, DHCP). Cameras must be added manually via the config flow.

Troubleshooting

Camera won't connect

Verify the camera is reachable by opening http://<camera-ip> in a browser.
Ensure the username and password are correct. Try logging into the camera's web UI with the same credentials.
Check that the HTTP port (default 80) matches what the camera is configured to use.
For HTTPS cameras, the integration accepts self-signed certificates automatically.

Events not firing

Make sure you selected the events you want when setting up the integration. You can change them by removing and re-adding the integration, or using the reconfigure flow.
Open Developer Tools -> Events in Home Assistant, listen for dahua_event_received, and trigger an event (e.g., walk in front of the camera) to verify events are being received.
Enable debug logging (see below) to see event stream connection status.
Some events (e.g., CrossLineDetection, SmartMotionHuman) require IVS rules to be configured in the camera's own UI first.

Entities show unavailable

This usually means the camera is unreachable or returned an error. Check your network connection to the camera.
If the camera requires re-authentication, you'll see a notification in Home Assistant. Use the reauth flow to update credentials.
Restart the integration by going to Settings -> Devices & services -> Dahua and clicking Reload.

Streams not loading

Ensure the RTSP port (default 554) is correct and accessible.
Make sure ffmpeg is configured in your configuration.yaml (see Installation section).
Try accessing the RTSP stream directly: rtsp://user:pass@camera-ip:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

NVR setup

Each NVR channel must be added as a separate integration entry. Use the channel index (0-based) when configuring.
Channel 0 is the first camera, channel 1 is the second, and so on.

Debug logging

Add to your configuration.yaml and restart:

logger:
  default: info
  logs:
    custom_components.dahua: debug

Events

Events are streamed from the device and fired on the Home Assistant event bus.

Here's example event data:

{
    "event_type": "dahua_event_received",
    "data": {
        "name": "Cam13",
        "Code": "VideoMotion",
        "action": "Start",
        "index": "0",
        "data": {
            "Id": [
                0
            ],
            "RegionName": [
                "Region1"
            ],
            "SmartMotionEnable": false
        },
        "DeviceName": "Cam13"
    },
    "origin": "LOCAL",
    "time_fired": "2021-06-30T04:00:28.605290+00:00",
    "context": {
        "id": "199542fe3f404f2a0a81031ee495bdd1",
        "parent_id": null,
        "user_id": null
    }
}

And here's how you configure and event trigger in an automation:

platform: event
event_type: dahua_event_received
event_data:
  name: Cam13
  Code: VideoMotion
  action: Start

And that's it! You can enable debug logging (See at the end of this readme) to print out events to the Home Assisant log as they fire. That can help you understand the events. Or you can HA and open Developer Tools -> Events -> and under "Listen to events" enter dahua_event_received and then click "Start Listening" and wait for events to fire (you might need to walk in front of your cam to make motion events fire, or press a button, etc)

Example Code Events

Code	Description
BackKeyLight	Unit Events, See Below States
VideoMotion	motion detection event
VideoLoss	video loss detection event
VideoBlind	video blind detection event
AlarmLocal	alarm detection event
CrossLineDetection	tripwire event
CrossRegionDetection	intrusion event
LeftDetection	abandoned object detection
TakenAwayDetection	missing object detection
VideoAbnormalDetection	scene change event
FaceDetection	face detect event
AudioMutation	intensity change
AudioAnomaly	input abnormal
VideoUnFocus	defocus detect event
WanderDetection	loitering detection event
RioterDetection	People Gathering event
ParkingDetection	parking detection event
MoveDetection	fast moving event
MDResult	motion detection data reporting event. The motion detect window contains 18 rows and 22 columns. The event info contains motion detect data with mask of every row
HeatImagingTemper	temperature alarm event

Example Automations

Send a notification on motion detection

automation:
  - alias: "Camera motion notification"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.front_porch_motion_alarm
        to: "on"
    action:
      - action: notify.mobile_app_phone
        data:
          title: "Motion Detected"
          message: "Motion detected on Front Porch camera"
          data:
            image: /api/camera_proxy/camera.front_porch_main

Turn on lights when motion is detected at night

automation:
  - alias: "Driveway motion lights"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.driveway_cam_motion_alarm
        to: "on"
    condition:
      - condition: sun
        after: sunset
        before: sunrise
    action:
      - action: light.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: light.driveway_flood_light
      - delay: "00:05:00"
      - action: light.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: light.driveway_flood_light

Doorbell press notification with snapshot

automation:
  - alias: "Doorbell pressed"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.front_door_button_pressed
        to: "on"
    action:
      - action: camera.snapshot
        target:
          entity_id: camera.front_door_main
        data:
          filename: /config/www/doorbell_snapshot.jpg
      - action: notify.mobile_app_phone
        data:
          title: "Doorbell"
          message: "Someone is at the front door"
          data:
            image: /local/doorbell_snapshot.jpg

Move PTZ camera to preset on event

automation:
  - alias: "Point camera at gate when opened"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.gate_sensor
        to: "on"
    action:
      - action: dahua.goto_preset_position
        target:
          entity_id: camera.backyard_main
        data:
          position: 2

Listen for raw events on the event bus

automation:
  - alias: "Log all Dahua events"
    trigger:
      - platform: event
        event_type: dahua_event_received
        event_data:
          Code: CrossLineDetection
          action: Start
    action:
      - action: notify.persistent_notification
        data:
          title: "Tripwire Alert"
          message: "Cross-line detection triggered on {{ trigger.event.data.name }}"

BackKeyLight States

State	Description
0	OK, No Call/Ring
1, 2	Call/Ring
4	Voice message
5	Call answered from VTH
6	Call not answered
7	VTH calling VTO
8	Unlock
9	Unlock failed
11	Device rebooted

Supported Functions

The integration creates entities and services based on what your device supports. Not all devices support all features — the integration probes the camera at setup time and adds entities accordingly. You can disable any entities that don't apply to your device.

Entities

Camera

Entity	Description	Added when
Camera (Main)	Main stream with live view, snapshots, and RTSP streaming	Always
Camera (Sub)	Sub stream(s) with lower resolution	Always (one per sub-stream)

Binary Sensors

Entity	Description	Device class	Added when
Motion alarm	Motion detection event	`motion`	VideoMotion event selected
Cross line alarm	Tripwire / cross-line event	`motion`	CrossLineDetection event selected
Button pressed	Doorbell button press	`sound`	Doorbell devices
Door status	Door open/close state	`door`	Doorbell devices
Smart Motion Human	Human detected by smart motion	`motion`	SmartMotionHuman event selected
Smart Motion Vehicle	Vehicle detected by smart motion	`motion`	SmartMotionVehicle event selected
Other events	One sensor per selected event type	`motion` (default)	Based on event selection

Switches

Entity	Description	Category	Added when
Motion detection	Enable/disable motion detection	Config	Always
Disarming	Toggle disarming linkage (Event -> Disarming)	Config	Device supports disarming API
Event notifications	Toggle event notifications when disarmed	Config	Device supports disarming API
Smart motion detection	Enable/disable smart motion detection	Config	Device supports smart motion
Siren	Activate the camera's built-in siren	—	AS-PV models, L46N, W452ASD

Lights

Entity	Description	Added when
Infrared	Infrared LED control with brightness	Device has infrared lighting
Illuminator	White light control with brightness	Device has Lighting_V2 support
Flood light	Flood light on/off	ASH26, L26N, L46N, V261LC, W452ASD models
Security light	Red/blue flashing alarm light	AS-PV models, AD410, DB61i, IP8M-2796E
Ring light	Doorbell ring light on/off	Amcrest doorbells (AD/DB6 models)

Selects

Entity	Description	Added when
Security light	Doorbell light mode (Off/On/Strobe)	Amcrest doorbells with security light
Preset position	PTZ preset position (1-10 or Manual)	Always (disabled by default)

Services

Service	Parameters	Description
`camera.enable_motion_detection`		Enables motion detection
`camera.disable_motion_detection`		Disabled motion detection
`dahua.set_infrared_mode`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `mode`: Auto, On, Off `brightness`: 0 - 100 inclusive	Sets the infrared mode. Useful to set the mode back to Auto
`dahua.goto_preset_position`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `position`: 1 - 10 inclusive	Go to a preset position
`dahua.set_video_profile_mode`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `mode`: Day, Night	Sets the video profile mode to day or night
`dahua.set_focus_zoom`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `focus`: The focus level, e.g.: 0.81 0 - 1 inclusive `zoom`: The zoom level, e.g.: 0.72 0 - 1 inclusive	Sets the focus and zoom level
`dahua.set_channel_title`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `text1`: The text 1 `text2`: The text 2	Sets the channel title
`dahua.set_text_overlay`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `group`: The group, used to apply multiple of text as an overly, e.g.: 1 `text1`: The text 1 `text3`: The text 3 `text4`: The text 4 `text2`: The text 2	Sets the text overlay on the video
`dahua.set_custom_overlay`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `group`: The group, used to apply multiple of text as an overly, e.g.: 0 `text1`: The text 1 `text2`: The text 2	Sets the custom overlay on the video
`dahua.enable_channel_title`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable, False to disable	Enables or disables the channel title overlay on the video
`dahua.enable_time_overlay`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable, False to disable	Enables or disables the time overlay on the video
`dahua.enable_text_overlay`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `group`: The group, used to apply multiple of text as an overly, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable, False to disable	Enables or disables the text overlay on the video
`dahua.enable_custom_overlay`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `group`: The group, used to apply multiple of text as an overly, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable, False to disable	Enables or disables the custom overlay on the video
`dahua.set_privacy_masking`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `index`: The mask index, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable, False to disable	Enables or disabled a privacy mask on the camera
`dahua.set_record_mode`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `mode`: Auto, On, Off	Sets the record mode. On is always on recording. Off is always off. Auto based on motion settings, etc.
`dahua.enable_all_ivs_rules`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `enabled`: True to enable all IVS rules, False to disable all IVS rules	Enables or disables all IVS rules
`dahua.enable_ivs_rule`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `channel`: The camera channel, e.g.: 0 `index`: The rule index enabled`: True to enable the IVS rule, False to disable the IVS rule	Enable or disable an IVS rule
`dahua.vto_open_door`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `door_id`: The door ID to open, e.g.: 1 Opens a door via a VTO
`dahua.vto_cancel_call`	`target`: camera.cam13_main Cancels a call on a VTO device (Doorbell)
`dahua.set_video_in_day_night_mode`	`target`: camera.cam13_main `config_type`: The config type: general, day, night `mode`: The mode: Auto, Color, BlackWhite. Note Auto is also known as Brightness by Dahua	Set the camera's Day/Night Mode. For example, Color, BlackWhite, or Auto
`dahua.reboot`	`target`: camera.cam13_main Reboots the device

Local development

If you wish to work on this component, the easiest way is to follow HACS Dev Container README. In short:

Install Docker
Install Visual Studio Code
Install the devcontainer Visual Code plugin
Clone this repo and open it in Visual Studio Code
View -> Command Palette. Type Tasks: Run Task and select it, then click Run Home Assistant on port 9123
Open Home Assistant at http://localhost:9123

Curl/HTTP commands

# Stream events
curl -s --digest -u admin:$DAHUA_PASSWORD  "http://192.168.1.203/cgi-bin/eventManager.cgi?action=attach&codes=[All]&heartbeat=5"

# List IVS rules
http://192.168.1.203/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=getConfig&name=VideoAnalyseRule

# Enable/Disable IVS rules for [0][3] ... 0 is the channel, 3 is the rule index. Use the right index as required
http://192.168.1.203/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&VideoAnalyseRule[0][3].Enable=false

# Enable/disable Audio Linkage for an IVS rule
http://192.168.1.203/cgi-bin/configManager.cgi?action=setConfig&VideoAnalyseRule[0][3].EventHandler.VoiceEnable=false

References and thanks

Thanks to @elad-ba for his work on https://github.com/elad-bar/DahuaVTO2MQTT which was copied and modified and then used here for VTO devices
Thanks for the DAHUA_HTTP_API_V2.76.pdf API reference found at http://www.ipcamtalk.com
Thanks to all the people opening issues, reporting bugs, pasting commands, etc

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 321 Commits
.github		.github
.vscode		.vscode
config		config
custom_components		custom_components
manual_tests		manual_tests
scripts		scripts
static		static
tests		tests
.coveragerc		.coveragerc
.devcontainer.json		.devcontainer.json
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
.pre-commit-config.yaml		.pre-commit-config.yaml
.release-please-manifest.json		.release-please-manifest.json
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
debug_privacy_mode.py		debug_privacy_mode.py
hacs.json		hacs.json
pyproject.toml		pyproject.toml
pytest.ini		pytest.ini
release-please-config.json		release-please-config.json
renovate.json		renovate.json
requirements.txt		requirements.txt
requirements_dev.txt		requirements_dev.txt
requirements_test.txt		requirements_test.txt
setup.cfg		setup.cfg

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Home Assistant Dahua Integration

Use Cases

How Data is Updated

Installation

HACS install

Manual install

Setup

Removal

Configuration Options

Known supported cameras

Dahua cameras

Dahua cameras

Other brand cameras

Doorbell cameras

Known Limitations

Troubleshooting

Camera won't connect

Events not firing

Entities show unavailable

Streams not loading

NVR setup

Debug logging

Events

Example Code Events

Example Automations

Send a notification on motion detection

Turn on lights when motion is detected at night

Doorbell press notification with snapshot

Move PTZ camera to preset on event

Listen for raw events on the event bus

BackKeyLight States

Supported Functions

Entities

Camera

Binary Sensors

Switches

Lights

Selects

Services

Local development

Curl/HTTP commands

References and thanks

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